* the general obligations on producers and certain suppliers to ensure that a product placed on the market is a safe product and is free from defects;

* specific products and services which are subject to special regulation.

Specific products and services are regulated under a wide range of legislation. Much UK legislation is in the field of consumer protection and implements one or more EU Directives. This is mostly done by statutory instrument, although there are instances where the implementing measure is a piece of primary legislation.

EU and free movement of goods

The EU Commission has information
on the implementation
of EU product rules. There is a a description of EU legislation, policies and practical arrangements relating to the free movement of goods in the EU and EEA and from third countries, including harmonisation of laws and CE marking of products.

General product safety requirement

A producer is under an obligation to ensure that a product placed on the market is a safe product [the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 reg. 5]R.Read more

Defective product liability

Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA) sets out a scheme dealing with civil liability for unsafe goods whereby the producer of an unsafe product or, as the case may be, another person in the chain of supply, is held strictly liable in damages with respect to any defect in those goods which causes damage.Read more

General duties of manufacturers under health and safety at work legislation

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.6 imposes a general duty on any person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work or any article of fairground equipment to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the article is so designed and constructed that it will be safe and without risks to health at all times when it is being set, used, cleaned or maintained by a person at work; see further Health and safety at work

Office for Product Safety and Standards

The Government announced on 21 January 2018 announced the creation of a new national oversight body tasked with identifying consumer risks and managing responses to large-scale product recalls and repairs. The Office for Product Safety (OPS) will provide support and advice for local authority Trading Standards teams, co-ordinate work across local authorities where action is needed on a national scale and ensure the UK continues to carry out appropriate border checks on imported products once the UK leaves the European Union.

OPS will be based in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and will have a budget of £12 million per year when fully operational.

The Office was created as part of the Government’s response to the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety. Established in October 2016 by former Consumer Minister Margot James, the group of product and fire safety experts was brought together to build on the recommendations made by Lynn Faulds Wood in her independent review into consumer product recalls.

07/03/2018 Guide unveiled to protect consumer product safety recalls

Source: GOV.UK

The first ever government backed code of practice for product safety recalls has been published. The new guidance will ‘help businesses understand what they need to do if something goes wrong with their product’ and follows recommendations from safety experts commissioned by the government.

The code of practice includes details on how a business can monitor the safety of products and plan for a recall, and how Market Surveillance Authorities such as local authority trading standards can support businesses in monitoring incidents and their implementation of corrective action. The Code of Practice, developed by BSI, is the ‘first major initiative for the new Office, launched by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2018’. It follows a recommendation by the Working Group on Products Recalls and Safety to introduce such a Code to further strengthen the UK’s already tough product safety regime.

05/03/2018 Product Safety Office issues first enforcement action

Source: GOV.UK

The Office for Product Safety and Standards has carried out its first enforcement action, a fine of £4,000 for timber operator Hardwood Dimensions (Holdings) Limited for breaching regulations prohibiting the importing and sale of illegally harvested timber. The company failed to check the legality of a batch of timber from Cameroon when placing it on the market to ensure it originated from legal sources.

The action is the first since the government set up the new office earlier in 2018.

Hardwood Dimensions pleaded guilty at the first hearing and was fined £4,000 plus a victim surcharge of £170 and prosecution costs of £3,273.

List of specific regulated products and services

The following is a list of some products and services which are subject to special regulation.

Many of the products are regulated at the EU level and the list may mention only the implementing UK regulations; the underlying EU legislation must be consulted as well. The list is not comprehensive.

The distinction between a regulated product or service and a regulated business is not always clear. If in doubt, consult the separate section dealing with Regulated businesses.

The CPA (Part II) empowers the Secretary of State to make safety regulations to secure that specified goods or categories of goods are safe, or not made available to persons in whose hands they would be unsafe, and that appropriate information is provided in respect of such goods.

Many product safety regulations have been revoked as part of the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’ (see also the Product Safety (Revocation) Regulations 2012 SI 2012 No 1815).

SI 2018/389: Provisions made provide for the enforcement in the UK of Regulation (EU) 2016/426 (the EU Gas Appliances Regulation) on appliances burning gaseous fuels, repealing Directive 2009/142/EC. The EU Gas Appliances Regulation is aimed at ensuring gas appliances and fittings entering the EU market fulfil a high level of protection for the health and safety of users. The Regulations will come into force on 21 April 2018

SI 2018/390: Provisions are made to provide for the enforcement of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 (the EU PPE Regulation) on personal protective equipment, which repeals Directive 89/686/EEC in the UK. Enforcement authorities in the UK (such as Trading Standards Authorities, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Office for Nuclear Regulation) are enabled to take action against 'economic operators' (ie manufacturers, importers and distributors) if they do not comply with the obligations in the EU PPE Regulation. The Regulations will come into force on 21 April 2018.